Weekend bowling event to raise money for Colin Gillis Fund

April 19, 2012

TUPPER LAKE - Organizers are calling for bowlers to come help raise money for the search for missing teen Colin Gillis this weekend.

Bowling for Colin will be held at Lakeview Lanes in Tupper Lake Saturday. The event runs from 1 to 10 p.m., with the first two two-hour time slots available for people younger than 21 and the 6 to 8 p.m. and 8 to 10 p.m. time slots available for adults.

Aerica Biggers, who is organizing the event with Tracy Sparks, said the adult 8 to 10 p.m. slot is filling up the fastest - only two lanes were left in that time slot earlier this week. They are trying to schedule five to six people bowling in each lane.

Article Photos

Colin Gillis(Photo provided)

Organizers invite people to come as teams or individuals. The fundraiser will cost $10 per person, which includes shoes and two hours of bowling.

There will be raffle prizes and 50/50 drawings throughout the day, and food will be provided.

Reservations are required. For reservations or questions, call Sparks at 359-8144 after 3 p.m. or Biggers at 359-5109 after 4 p.m., or leave a message if calling earlier.

All proceeds from the fundraiser will go to help continue support for the Gillis family. It's one of a number of upcoming fundraisers for the cause.

Colin Gillis, an 18-year-old pre-med student from Tupper Lake, was home on spring break from SUNY Brockport when he left a party on foot. He was last seen in the early morning hours of March 11 on state Route 3 near the line between Tupper Lake and Piercefield, where Franklin and St. Lawrence counties meet.

An extensive search of that area by state police and the state Department of Environmental Conservation was downgraded in March, but family and friends continue to search.

A search with volunteers last weekend turned up no additional clues to Gillis' whereabouts. His father, John Gillis, who has been heading up the search efforts, posted on a Facebook page created to keep people updated on the search that the search helped close the gaps and determine where his son is not.

"As hard as it is for everyone wanting to find him, it's still giving us hope, and helping us to hold the right thought," John Gillis wrote.